Connie Wong, Kwun Tong

Q Is a heliport on the Wan Chai waterfront a good idea?

I am a multimillionaire and I don't care about anyone else but myself.

If I want to build a heliport in the middle of Hong Kong's beautiful harbour view, then there is nothing that you can do to stop me.

People with money have the power to do whatever they want to do.

People in Hong Kong think that leaving it up to others to stop me will help them solve their problems. Thanks to their apathy, I can do whatever I want, including building a heliport.

Thank you, Hong Kong.

Name and address supplied

Q Should lifts be installed in all public estates?

Hong Kong is dubbed a cosmopolitan city. Yet I am shocked to learn that some public estates still have no lifts.

Walking up may be a piece of cake to most of us. However, it could be a great challenge to the elderly and disabled.

It's sad to see the tenants' request for lifts falling on deaf ears. The department in question seems to be accomplished at coming up with plans, but not good at implementing them.

Jason Kitlet, Diamond Hill

Q How can we build a stronger reading culture?

The inadequate promotion of books is the main reason for the poor reading habits of Hongkongers. We seldom see ads for books but always for gossip magazines. Magazines are cheaper; reading them could be fun and relaxing.

RTHK's book promotion programmes are a good way to start building a stronger reading culture in Hong Kong.

Cheung Hoi Lam, Kwun Tong

On other matters...

I was really shocked to learn that a police officer was stabbed in the neck while on patrol.

Like before, we have been assured that Hong Kong is one of the safest cities. But it is far too obvious that the safety of police officers is now a worrying concern.

Available resources should be deployed to make police patrols safer. This makes me think of the 4,000 auxiliary police officers whose beat patrol duties have been reduced to just eight hours a month. It is high time this is rectified.

Lawrence Choi, Mei Foo Sun Chuen

I am writing regarding the stabbing of a policeman last week.

I would like to know why the policeman had been patrolling alone.

Policemen should patrol in pairs. If the injured policeman had had a partner, he would not have been chasing the suspect, he would have received medical treatment earlier and he would not be in a severe condition now.

Life is invaluable. The police force is protecting us at great risk to officers, but it seems that the government is not doing enough to protect them.

I strongly urge the police to explain how the patrolling system works. Also, I hope the government can protect officers better by giving the service more resources.

I hope incidents like this will not happen again.

Peter Ling, Tsuen Wan

On Friday there was an article about euthanasia and an interview with the brave Tang Siu-pun who languished in Queen Mary Hospital for 13 years before appealing to former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa to be allowed to die. Ah Pun now receives help after his plight was widely reported in the media.

In the same edition, we had a reply to a complaint aired in the Post against Queen Elizabeth Hospital by a relative of a patient, not by the patient herself.

In the reply from the hospital, details of the patient, including the patient's name and medical condition, were publicised as justification for their restraining practices.

While a patient should be allowed to disclose her own medical information, and in this case she did not, I find it worrying that hospitals may have abandoned their traditional doctor-patient confidentiality.

The recent health document proposes that all patients' records, both in the private and public sectors, be centralised for easy access - in the interest of better care!

Can we expect more of this confidential disclosure? And is the response from Queen Elizabeth Hospital part of a wider measure to stifle patients' complaints?

Perhaps Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food York Chow Yat-ngok could enlighten us?

Name and address supplied

Robert Chua has let it be known that he was not producing TVB's Enjoy Yourself Tonight in the 1980s when the demeaning 'Maria' skit about a Filipino amah was aired for a period of time.

It was the Post's reporter, not me, who wrote that in Mr Chua's new television show, Home Away from Home, 'the maids may soon be able to air their bosses' dirty laundry on television'.

Of course, the new show is a welcome move that will give the Filipino community a voice - something that's long been needed.

He writes that he hopes 'reasonable employers will allow their domestic helpers to watch television during their lunchtime break', and I had mentioned that 'given the way too many maids are denied leisure time by employers, I don't see them being allowed to relax in front of the television any time during the day'.

The key word is 'reasonable' - one wonders what percentage of employers would fall into that category?

Isabel Escoda, Lantau

I would like to respond to Elaine Pang's letter printed on Friday regarding her 'disgusting experience' of travelling on the MTR with a 'smelly, barking dog'.

As one of the many pet owners in Hong Kong, I must take exception to these remarks.

Both of my pets are clean and fragrance-free, as are those of my pet-owner friends.

By contrast, a huge number of humans who use public transport seem to be unaware of basic requirements such as bathing regularly, using deodorant or even cleaning their teeth.

Haven't we all been subjected to smelly armpits and 'death breath' on the MTR at one time or another?

And what about the mobile phone owners who 'bark' into their phones for the entire journey, making far more disturbance than any pet is capable of?

Pets play an important role in our society.

Hospitals and hospices in other countries now organise dog-visit days after discovering that the visits have a positive effect on patients' morale and recovery rates.

It has also been proven that children who grow up with pets have a better sense of responsibility and social skills.

From a purely selfish point of view, statistics also show that pet owners generally live longer. In closing, I am truly sorry that Ms Pang's experience in interacting with a dog was a 'disgusting' one.

K.H. Wong, Discovery Bay